Non-Academic Careers
Philosophy of Science in Science Policy
Science and society
- Philosophy of science
- Plus history and sociology of science, gender studies
- Science can be a force for good
- But often has been actively harmful
- race science and eugenics
- naturalizing sexism and cissexism
- weapons of mass destruction
- fossil fuels, plastics, and pesticides
- colonialism, propaganda, and psychological torture
- What to do? Democratize science and policy
- Engagement with scientists, publics, and policymakers
My postdoc Odyssey
- Born in Bay Area, grew up in Sierra Nevada foothills
- PhD in 2012
- Various postdocs from 2012-2015
- ~150-200 tenure-track job applications
- All unsuccessful
- Philosophy’s ivory tower culture
- The more abstract the better
- Any philosophy that’s useful is “merely applied”
- Other disciplines are inferior to philosophy
My postdoc Odyssey
- 2015-17: AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship
- 2017: Whoops, Trump, finding a policy job is impossible
- 2017: Back to California for yet another postdoc
- Expected to end up in staff position at UC Davis, in state government, or the tech industry
- 2019: Miraculous TT job offer from UC Merced
AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship
- First cohort in 1973
- Placing “science PhDs” into the federal government
- Network of a few thousand alumni
- In my cohort, ~280 participants
- 15-20 social scientists and humanists
- Wide range of participating agencies
- EPA, NSF, NIH, USAID, State, Energy, USDA, Defense
- Up to 2 years
- Historically, roughly 1/3 of alumni end up in government, 1/3 in academia, 1/3 in nonprofits
- Open to PhDs and engineers at all career stages
2015-16: Environmental Protection Agency
Chemical Safety for Sustainability
2016-17: National Science Foundation
NRI: National Robotics Initiative
AAAS STPF: More info
- Program website
- Eligibility
- Doctoral level science degree or master’s in engineering
- Includes any field of social science
- History, philosophy, sociology of science are also good
- Is your kind of research funded by NIH or NSF?
- US citizen
- Applications due November 1 each year
- Must have PhD in hand when applying
- Separate application processes for executive branch vs. Congress
Academia, government, nonprofits
Academia: Pros and cons
Pro
- Academic freedom
- Great job security and benefits (if you have tenure)
- Salaries okay to pretty good
- Academic summers
Con
- Publish or perish
- Disciplinary policing
- Can’t choose where you live
- Job market for TT positions is ridiculously broken
- Job security and benefits vary wildly if you’re not tenured faculty
Government
Pro
- DC and state capitols have good quality of life
- Good to great job security and benefits
- Direct social/policy impact of your work
- Job market can be complicated but usually isn’t super tight
Con
- Report to a manager or supervisor
- Standard business hours
- Hatch Act
- Constrained by political priorities
Nonprofit/Advocacy
Pro
- Offices are generally in major cities
- (Somewhat) direct social/policy impact
- Not constrained by Hatch Act or political priorities
Con
- Salaries generally not great
- Constrained by org’s priorities and values